Cricket Ireland Media reports:

Ireland fought hard to restrict a rampant Afghanistan batting attack, but a lack of substantial partnerships and world-class bowling saw the visiting side prevail in the first one-day international at Stormont. Persistent rain yesterday left ground staff with a challenge overnight, but play started on time with Ireland’s captain William Porterfield winning the toss and electing to bowl first.

Unlike the two completed T20Is last week, Ireland’s bowlers were able to remove the dangerous Hazratullah Zazai early, with Boyd Rankin surprising the batsman with extra bounce and he popped the ball up to Simi Singh. Zazai had been named Player of the Series for his two innings last week in the T20 format, and looked again to threaten the attack but his early capture gave the Irish bowlers a boost.

Afghan middle-order batsman Gulbadin Naib top-scored with a well-controlled innings of 64 from 98 balls (6 x fours) and was well supported by a stylish half-century by Hashmatullah Shahidi (54 runs from 82 balls; 3 x fours). Despite a flurry of shots from the captain Asghar Afghan (25 runs from 23 balls; 1 x four, 1 x six), the Irish bowlers could be relatively satisfied with how they controlled the innings.

Rankin bowled with pace and wasn’t afraid of using his additional height to great effect, claiming three scalps in his spell of 3-44 from 10 overs. However, the stand-out bowler of the innings was the returning Tim Murtagh. The 37-year old Middlesex paceman bowled with accuracy and variation, inducing false shots and taking a career best 4-31 from 10 overs.

Another stand-out performance of note was the outfield catching of Andrew Balbirnie who claimed four catches – an Irish record for outfield catches in an ODI. Needing 228 for victory, Ireland lost openers Porterfield (16) and Stirling (10) before Andrew Balbirnie and Niall O’Brien set about re-establishing control of the innings, until a piece of brilliant fielding and a slight mix up in the call led to O’Brien’s dismissal, run out for 11.

Balbirnie was the lynchpin for Ireland and the batsman that Ireland needed to build the innings around. His 55 from 82 balls was assured but his demise signalled the turning of the match. Despite Gary Wilson’s 38 (50 balls; 1 x six) at the death, Ireland could not consolidate a partnership and the regular fall of wickets put upward pressure on the run rate required. Eventually Ireland was bowled out for 198, losing by 29 runs.

After the match Tim Murtagh said: “It was a shame – at halfway we’d given ourselves a good chance. We started a bit slow in the field, but our bowlers - to claw it back and restrict them to 228 - was a pretty good effort. We felt we were in the game at that stage and felt pretty confident. Obviously it didn’t our way and it’s disappointing but we’re going to have to come back Wednesday. “They played pretty well in the middle, the two lads who got fifties looked like they were setting up a platform, and we know they’ve got dangerous guys who can whack the ball at the death, but we held our nerve pretty well I think – maybe we got a bit lucky in the end with a few leading edges spooning up to cover, but pretty good effort from the 20 over mark onwards I thought. We would’ve taken that at the start of the game.

“A total like that was only really one really good partnership that would have sealed it for us, unfortunately we couldn’t do that. We needed one of those partnerships to kick on and someone to score 70 or 80 and other guys to play around him. “The wicket was a little bit sticky, in terms of the ball wasn’t coming onto the bat. It didn’t do much off the seam or swing much, I don’t think it even spun massively later in the game, and we were happy with where we were at halfway. We knew we still had to play well because they’ve a couple of really good spinners, but we were confident we could have chased it down.

“They’ve obviously got a world-class bowler in Rashid, and Mujeeb is probably not that far behind him, I think those two are the main difference between the teams. So as bowlers, we’ve got to help the batters out by restricting the opposition as much as we can. “It’s good to be back with the boys – I haven’t seen them since the Test Match [in May], so it’s been strange having a chunk of time not being over here, but its been good to get back in amongst them and get some wickets.”

Ian Callender (Belfast Telegraph) reports

Another opening game of a series and another Ireland defeat. Yet again, Ireland must come from behind after Afghanistan won the first of three one-day internationals at Stormont by 29 runs. Led by Tim Murtagh and Boyd Rankin, the Ireland bowlers restricted the Afghans to 227-9 but a couple of soft early wickets and two runs outs put the home side on the back foot and there is still not enough power-hitting at the end to make up any deficit.

A solitary boundary was scored after the 33rd over of the Ireland innings and Rashid Khan did not take any of the first eight wickets so the sequence of him taking at least three in every Afghanistan ODI win is ended. Worryingly, moving forward, it was the two pace bowlers, Aftab Alam and the seemingly innocuous Gulbadin Naib who took three of the wickets, with Paul Stirling and captain William Porterfield both chasing wide balls and giving catches to the wicket-keeper in the first 11 overs.

Andy Balbirnie was the one batsman who looked comfortable on a pitch which, while never easy to bat on, was certainly not a minefield and at halfway, Porterfield admitted he felt confident of chasing down the total. It only needed one substantial partnership but in the end the 40-run stand between Balbirnie and Simi Singh who retained his place as the second spinner, was the best that Ireland could manage. Andy McBrine, who was left out of last week’s Twenty20 series between the teams, but played in every match at the World Cup Qualifying tournament in March, returned to the ODI side but there was still no room for James Shannon and David Delany, as Niall O’Brien and Murtagh resumed their places.

It was Boyd Rankin who made the first breakthrough for Ireland, after Afghanistan captain Ashgar Afghan (he has changed his name from Stanikzai) called wrongly at the toss. Hazratullah Zazai, the big-hitting left-hander who scored 156 in the two T20s in Bready last week could not be ignored in the longer form and was promoted into the 16-man squad and immediately given his ODI debut. He should not have survived his third ball but Paul Stirling, surprisingly, spilled the early chance at second slip but Rankin, the unlucky bowler, would not be denied and in his second over, Zazai could not deal with the short lifting ball and it lobbed gently to cover.

Three overs later, Murtagh reduced Afghanistan to 29-2 with a return catch to his left to give him his 50th ODI wicket but the opening bowlers could not follow up their early success and, indeed, McBrine made the only other breakthrough as a couple of half century partnerships put the visitors in control. With 15 overs left, they were in a commanding position on 155-4 but, just as they had done in the first T20 last week, the Ireland bowlers finished strongly. Rankin ended the fourth wicket stand with a full ball which trapped Gulbadin in his crease and a pull off Peter Chase by Afghan to deep mid-wicket was always going to be intercepted on the full by Paul Stirling who this time made no mistake.

Seven balls later, Afghanistan were seven down as Murtagh struck twice in his penultimate over, both caught in the covers by Balbirnie of balls that stopped and then the same combination gave Murtagh his best ODI figures of 4-31 and Balbirnie’s fourth catch was also an Ireland ODI record for a non wicket-keeper. Rankin took his third wicket, a skyer to deep square leg, immediately after Shafiquallah had hit him for six but despite Aftab Alam also clearing the boundary in the last over, it was only Afghanistan’s fourth boundary in the last 15 overs.

Ireland will need more input from their slow bowlers in the next two games – McBrine and Singh’s combined figures were 1-96, - but the biggest plus mark for the attack was not a single no ball or wide was bowled – for the first time in Ireland’s 135 ODIs. Porterfield had said that he needed the top seven to get the runs and still be there when Rashid came on. Well the world’s best slow bowler was held back to the 23rd over but by then Ireland were 69-3 after Niall O’Brien had charged up the wicket when Balbirnie turned the ball to mid-wicket. The striker didn’t move and O’Brien, had no chance to beat the throw.

Balbirnie and Singh each took a boundary of Rashid in his first two overs, although Singh did survive a huge leg before decision which looked out even before the television replay confirmed as much. It was Mohammad Nabi whose full delivery got under the bat of Singh to give Afghanistan their fourth wicket but Kevin O’Brien joined Balbirnie for what was the best batting of the innings. All too quickly though, after 37 from 42 balls, Balbirnie was undone by Mujeeb’s mystery spin and holed out to backward square.

The arrival of Gary Wilson saw a drop in the run-rate – he took 25 balls to reach double figures – and it was probably that pressure which forced Kevin O’Brien to try and turn a rare two into three. But he was beaten by Mujeeb’s accurate throw from short thirdman and yet another unforced error was to prove fatal. McBrine was positive from the start and after his first two balls failed to score from only three in his 16-ball innings but the boundaries had long since dried up. When they tried to up the tempo, with Ireland needing 50 off the last five overs, McBrine holed out to long-off and Wilson’s six in the same over proved to be Ireland’s last fling.

Rashid, who was left to bowl the last five overs from the City End and duly conceded only 18 runs. He had failed to take a wicket in only three of his 13 ODIs against Ireland but two wickets in two balls, Wilson bowled sweeping and Chase from a return catch hit high in the air ensured it wouldn’t be another blank.